When Pam Horan, President of the Online Publishers Association (OPA), wrote in December 2012 that “programmatic buying does not build brands”, few would have disagreed. Today, times have changed as big data, programmatic buying and real-time bidding have collectively paved the way for a new generation of brand opportunities online. Recognising the growing shift in buying trends from single-site buys to RTB, many of the traditionally “exclusive” publishers are putting their inventory up for auction, allowing all parties to benefit. The resultant platform is sophisticated, universal and creates opportunities for all involved: buyers can now easily purchase across premium sites without juggling multiple publisher orders, while the advertiser benefits from myriad targeting and optimisation.